obstacles in their scientific and social lives; exaggerated and hidden reasons.
Searching throughout the history, women’s attempts for scientific issues were not
striking until the best known women scientist Marie Curie, with her Nobel Prize in
Physics and Chemistry, at the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then, there had
been ten other women scientists having Nobel Prize in scientific topics of physics,
chemistry, medicine and physiology (McGrayne, 1996). Moreover, there had been other
attempts of women, one of which is the Manhattan Project throughout the World War 2.
(Howes and Herzenberg, 1999). Since studies of radioactivity and atomic bomb are
considered as men’s work, striking heroes were male physicists who were not working
alone. In fact, Howes and Herzenberg (1999) state various people working in the project
from different countries and most of which were women, studying as physicists,
chemists, mathematicians, biologists and medical scientists. Moreover, a woman, Lise
Meitner provided the first explanation of nuclear fission (Howes, and Herzenberg, 1999).
However, this great percentage of women in a scientific project did not imply that women
were accepted as authorities in their fields. Pointing out women’s effort to continue
studying on their fields, the authors express the idea with which some women scientists’
come across as;
“no matter how good a woman was, she was out of job when the men came home” (Howes
and Herzenberg, 1999).
Even tough the women were eager to study science compared to previous times, the
society; American society for this case, still had patriarchal ideas and norms. Therefore,
women appearing in the science history before twentieth century and in early twentieth
century were involved in science primarily as a result of lack of men in the issue
Increasing interest of women in science has been responded mostly in the mid and
late twentieth century, especially in Turkey, Finland and Soviet Russia. Because women
were more interested and supported by authorities, the number of women scientists
noticeably increased in the last two centuries as Ogilvie and Harvey show in their list of
women scientists according to centuries (2000). Moreover, Acar (1991) states that
“…historical trends show that women’s participation in most scientific fields in the
academic world –despite occasional fluctuations- has been increasing since the 1940s.”
(Acar, 1991).
One of the noticeable rose of women is seen in the Turkish society. In the first
years of the Republic, Atatürk has encouraged people for education and science either
men or women. These first encouragements of government were especially towards
natural sciences like mathematics, physics and biology. Since then increasing literacy of
women lead them to choose various fields in academia (Acar, 1991). Therefore, there
have been women occupied in any popular and prestigious academic branches in Turkey.
Taking law and medicine as most prestigious professions in Turkey, Öncü states that
percentage of women in these professions between 1960 and 1970 has increased from 12
to 25 percent (Öncü, 1981). Similarly, Acar expresses that nearly 33 percent of the
faculty members in Turkish universities are female (Acar, 1991). Hence, women
scientists and academicians in Turkish society are distributed in many different fields.
Another example showing how the number of women in academia is increasing in
the twentieth century, in very recent decades, is Finland. Government’s intervention to
increase the number of women academicians have been effective that, according to a
recent research, Finland is the country where the percentage of women academicians is
the biggest in comparison to Western countries. Stolte-Heiskanen also states this
increase in percentage of women as;
“…28 percent of the population was employed in the so-called knowledge class
occupations by 1985. The proportion of women in these occupations increased at least as
rapidly as and more recently even faster than that of men. In 1980 more than one third of
all economically active women were in these occupations and in 1985, women
constituted more than two thirds of this sector.” (Stolte-Heiskanen, 1991).
Similarly, women in USSR in the late twentieth century, started to involve more in
scientific research as they have higher education and the opportunities for using their
knowledge grew according to Koval (1991).
“In science they can reveal and broadly use their knowledge and potentialities. Thus, it is
no wonder that during the 1970s and 1980s there has been a significant rise in the number
of women scientists, who comprise forty percent of all scientists at present.” (Koval, 1991).
Having similar results with intervention, these countries have had different ways of
encouragements. For example, Turkey was a poor country, in the first years of the
Republic and the only motivation for people to deal with education and science was the
belief and trust in the great leader Atatürk’s ideas. In Finland, the increasing number of
women is the result of government’s will and policy of having highly educated citizens
rather than founding a new country on strong basis.
Although some states like Turkey, Finland and USSR have had some kind of
policies for encouraging women to engage in scientific and academic studies, the social
life still could be hard for women out of their studies or in their studies. For example, in
Turkish case it seems like women do not have difficulties, as stated;
“In Turkish academia women appear to be free from traditional constraints placed on
women by the values and practices of most traditional societies. Studies show that mostly
academic women do not suffer from discrimination or institutional obstacles in their career
paths.” (Acar, 1991).
However, in Turkish society still the family obligations are owned by women and women
mostly choose family and give up studies for higher degrees. That is the reason, maybe,
for low percentages of women in higher degrees of science (Acar, 1991). Different from
the Turkish case, an obstacle for women in USSR, is that although women had the same
rights as men in scientific activities, there is a hierarchy when the roles of women and
men compared (Koval 1991).
“The fact is that men occupy the decision making positions and determine what kind of
work should be done by women.” (Koval, 1991).
Moreover, similar to Turkish society, the family obligations are owned by women also in
Soviet Russian, which interfere women from their careers (Koval, 1991).
In conclusion, female has been underrepresented in academic life occasionally in
history. However, it is changing in a positive way as women academicians and scientists’
number is increasing as explained through the paper. But why is the number of women
in science increasing? Should it be just to show that women and men are also equal in
science or for the sake of a country’s appreciation by other countries because it shows
modernization? If these are the real concerns, the societies are still using patriarchal rules
implicitly to show off as modern, so-called westernized country. However, a woman,
being a human, having the ability to think and the right to choose any area to work on;
and knowing herself as what can she do and cannot do, should choose a profession in
science or academia just because she wanted and can do it best. Therefore, the matter is
not just increasing the number, but increasing the qualified members of academics.
References:
Acar, F. (1991). Women in Academic Science Careers in Turkey. Stolte-
Heiskanen, V., Acar, F., Ananreva, N., Gaudart, D. (Ed.), Women in Science (pp. 147-
171). New York: Integrated Book Technologies.
Howes, H.R., Herzenberg, C.L. (1999). Their Day in the Sun: Women of the
Manhattan Project. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Koval, V., (1991).Soviet Women in Science. Stolte-Heiskanen, V., Acar, F.,
Ananreva, N., Gaudart, D. (Ed.), Women in Science (pp. 119-133). New York:
Integrated Book Technologies.
McGayne, S.B. (1996). Nobel Prize Women. (Reference book in Koç University
Library. Call # Q141.M358 1998 or Q173.M443 1997)
The Bibliographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from
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Öncü, A. (1981). Turkish Women in The Professions: Why so Many? Abadan-
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Europe, 1350-1750. Civilization 201 Course Packet-Module 3
